I’ve never been a huge fan of strip clubs before, which is probably why I’d never been. But a few weeks ago I went for my first time with my friend Melissa while she was in town. I gotta admit it was pretty fun. But being there just made me realize why I’m not really a fan. I’d never suggest a trip, but if a group of friends decided to go I wouldn’t be opposed.
Melissa comes to visit pretty often and we’d heard stories about the girls at the club downtown here, about how the quality goes up with the cover charge. “Don’t go Mondays,” they’d say. Suddenly, visions of the three breasted woman from Total Recall flashed in my head. But the Monday that we went, I’m happy to say all the girls have two rather normal breasts. In addition to having not three, but two breasts, the girls were decently attractive. Now, I’m not the kind of person who’s gonna think a stripper is hot, because well, a lot goes into me thinking someone is hot and a lot of it has to do with personality and character. No offense to the poor girls who are just trying to make a buck, but I’m sure there are more respectable ways to make money.
Okay, all that aside our trip there was actually pretty fun. No, we didn’t sit in front (close though) and no we didn’t stick dollar bills in their panties (though there was this one older Japanese guy…) but it was a fun time. A trip to a strip club isn’t cheap though. Beer (we drank cheap) was like $3 a bottle and I could easily see why people could easily spend a lot of money on other things too. Especially when…
So Melissa uses the bathroom so I decide to drink my beer and watch a little, mostly out of curiosity but a little out of uncomfortability of being in front of a lot of people who think this is normal and I’m just trying to “fit in”. I lean against a wall and before I know it, this fairly attractive blonde comes up and puts her arm around my sholder. She’s chewing gum and has no shirt on (I really don’t mind either). “How ya doing sugar?” she asks. I tell her I’m doing rather well and thanks for asking. I told her it was my first time, partly to see her reaction and partly out of honesty. “Thirty dollars in the back for a private dance,” she says, “forty and I’ll suck your ____”. While the offer is just slightly (okay, above slightly) tempting I felt sorry for her. If I actually did take her up on her offer though, the thirty bucks would be out of sympathy, not for my enjoyment.
I’m just not into that kind of thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love a kinky woman, but strippers just don’t turn me on. A stripper might enjoy what she does but my bet is that it’s forced, kinda like having a nice waitress – while possibly genuine, it’s sugar-coated for tips. Is that weird? I could easily find something better to spend thiry or forty bucks on, like say, bills or beer or paying off credit card debt or something like that – something that’d bring a lot more satisfaction than a stripper.
I took a few moments this morning to read some blogs that I’ve been sadly neglecting and I realized that I hadn’t written anything in two weeks. So what’s been going on? I’ve been busy.
Three weeks ago I injured my ankle during a 14-mile run. The following week I laid low and caught up on some projects at home for a few clients while letting my foot rest. The next weekend I went to the mountains with Kevin and Melissa to get some practice in for the Blue Ridge Relay race in September. My foot still being injured I made a doctors appointment for the next week. X-rays didn’t show any damage and I was told that the muscles were overused and to give it more rest time. I continued to catch up on work from home. Training for our marathon officially began last Monday, but I’ve been taking it easy on my ankle to make sure I’m fresh for the team in just two and a half weeks. Last week, we brewed our third beer – a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA clone – and we’ll be bottling it in just over a week. Very much looking forward to that. And this week, Melissa’s been in town hanging out and having fun. We’ve been enjoying the cuisine here in Athens, drinks, beer pong at local bars, and dancing (which was really more like undulating with the crowd of people).
So that’s what I’ve been up to in a nutshell.
I’ll probably write again soon, and it’ll probably be about our brew.
About one week ago we bottled our first home brew, an Arrogant Bastard clone and since then it’s been chilling (literally) in my fridge, eyeing me and teasing me each time I open it. I had to stick it in the back and hide it as best I could with the Schlitz “High Gravity” deuce and the remaining Leinenkugel’s from Melissa’s visit.
At the time of bottling we had purchased a bomber of the real Arrogant Bastard to compare color, smell, and taste. Taste, of course, can’t really be determined until after the carbonation process completes, which is about ten days from bottling.
Tragic day today in Athens, GA as a fire all but demolished the landmark Georgia Theater. I was downtown this morning snapping photos (really trying to get to work) which you’ll see below. Also, myself and my boss Gabe were caught snapping photos by Fox 5 news. Morgan, our co-worker was interviewed. The entire Eben Design office was on television today!
Here are some pics from this morning. See all of them here.
I’m about twelve days late for this, but hey, better late than never.
Part of organizing includes sectioning things out, which includes labeling the sections with appropriate titles. For me, 2008 was a year full of organized titled sections. It was full of events that will forever live in memory and milestone. I look back now on the year, then at myself, and, aside from being overall impressed I was also a little saddened.
The year started out like many others: good and drunk on New Years. I happened to be in Charlotte with a friend at The Philosophers’ Stone, a quaint little pub near downtown. I remember having a few pre-game drinks and ordering dinner, but after that I don’t remember much else. And I certainly don’t remember ringing in the new year. Pretty sad. And funny.
Fast-forward to April 11. I take a (regular) trip from Columbia to Rock Hill, SC where I went to college, to hang with friends. We go to our local watering hole to play our usual game(s) of darts and drink our usual $2.50 Miller Lite’s when something tells me to “look”. So I do, and that night I met one of the most amazing people in the world and also one of my best friends.
Rewind back to January. The job search. This actually began in January, but wasn’t fruitful until March, when I met (and was hired by) Eben Design. My early intentions were to get out of the South and into some place I actually enjoyed: (Most of this is due to the weather, I’ll add.) Seattle, my birthplace and also the location of the home office.
Turns out though, that there was a new office in Athens, GA and I was asked to help get it started. After a few “sighs” I decided it wouldn’t be that terrible and I accepted. And once I swallowed the lump that was in my throat and told my boss I was leaving (this was a really good group of people at a really good company) I packed my apartment, sold stuff that wouldn’t fit, and moved to Georgia.
By the end of May I had established my presence in this little town, even further “South” than Columbia, SC – my previous location. Once I got over myself I was able to see that Athens, although small in size, actually felt a lot bigger – certainly bigger than Columbia – and it boasted an impressive number of local bars, restaurants, and thingamajiggers to keep me entertained. And best of all, it was all within walking distance of my downtown apartment.
The next few months I spent renewing myself, my look, and touching up my apartment (with the help of my said new best friend). Thousands of dollars later and I’m comfortably nestled in my cozy little corner of the world.
Later that year I redesigned my web site with intentions of making it more of a formal business, made more friends, and set goals for myself for the upcoming year…
